Senior Software Engineer I – Search and AI Platform

RELX; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Pension Plan

Generous vacation entitlement

Flexible working hours

Personal Choice budget

Employee discounts

Parental leave programs

Job summary

Elsevier is seeking a Senior Software Engineer II to join the Shared Graph Team and help build scalable, data-driven search systems. You will design graph-based services, implement APIs using Java/Spring Boot and GraphQL, and integrate with AWS services to support ingestion, storage and messaging pipelines.

You will mentor engineers and help enforce clean code and CI/CD practices. You will work with a passionate team to deliver reliable, high-performance search and recommendation features,

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional software engineering in distributed systems or search platforms.
• Proven track record building scalable backend systems and APIs.
• Strong expertise in Java and the Spring Boot ecosystem.
• Hands-on experience with GraphQL API/REST API design.
• Cloud-native architectures with AWS and Kubernetes (EKS).
• Advocate of SOLID, clean code, CI/CD and architectural patterns.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement graph-based search services.
• Develop applications using Java, Spring Boot, Spring, GraphQL, and GraphQL Federation.
• Integrate with databases, web services, or AWS services to support ingestion, storage, and messaging pipelines.
• Mentor engineers and promote best practices.
• Collaborate with product managers and engineering teams to deliver search and recommendation features.
• Ensure robust monitoring and logging to drive reliability and performance.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

GraphQL

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

SOLID principles

Distributed systems

APIs design

Agile/Scrum

Tools

Apollo Router

Job description

Are you passionate about building scalable, high-performance data-driven applications? Do you enjoy turning complex datasets into robust, reliable systems that deliver real business impact?

About The Team

The Search and AI Platform is Elsevier’s agentic data platform, which powers products such as LeapSpace, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Clinical Key, Reaxys, and our next-generation AI-powered search systems. The platform uses agentic services to interrogate our rich knowledge graphs, search and recommendation systems, and our unparalleled collection of research data to deliver insights to the scientific community so they can collaborate more effectively, work smarter, and deliver quality research more quickly.

We are looking for an innovative, passionate SeniorSoftware Engineer II to work as part of the teams building and enhancing our platform to deliver intelligent, scalable solutions that create real value for our clients.

About The Role

The Shared Graph Team is a core part of Elsevier’s Search and AI Platform. This team builds structured queries based on relationships and entity metadata hydration, enabling advanced traversal, discovery, and recommendation systems. As a Senior Software Engineer II, you will work with a passionate team that delivers scalable, reliable, and innovative solutions that accelerate scientific discovery.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement graph-based search services.
• Develop applications using Java, Spring Boot, Spring, GraphQL, and GraphQL Federation.
• Integrate with databases, web services, or AWS services (Neo4j, DynamoDB, RDS, S3, Parameter Store, SQS, SNS, Kinesis) to support ingestion, storage, and messaging pipelines.
• Champion clean code, SOLID principles, and engineering best practices, setting standards and mentoring engineers.
• Collaborate with product managers and engineering teams to deliver advanced search and recommendation features.
• Ensure robust monitoring and logging with New RelicandCoralogix, driving reliability and performance.

Requirements

• 4+ years of professional software engineering experience in distributed systems or search platforms.
• Proven track record building scalable backend systems and APIs.
• Strong expertise in Java and the Spring Boot ecosystem.
• Hands-on experience with GraphQL API/REST APIs design.
• Solid background in cloud-native architectures with AWS and Kubernetes (EKS).
• An advocate of best practices for rapid development of quality software, including SOLID principles, clean code, architectural design patterns, CI/CD
• Familiarity with Agile, Kanban, or other iterative development methodologies.
• Comfortable learning new technologies, languages, and tools on the job, to ensure that the product is not left behind in a rapidly evolving ecosystem
• An inclusive, positive, collaborative mindset and a desire to deliver real business value to our customers

Nice To Have

• Experience with Apollo Router or advanced GraphQL federation strategies.
• Background in data modelling for graph-based systems.
• Familiarity with search platforms or AI-driven discovery systems.
• Experience working in high-throughput, distributed systems

Why join us?

Join our team and contribute to a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. If you are ready to advance your career and make a significant impact,

Work in a way that works for you

We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives and shared parental leave, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.

• Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive.

Working for you

Benefits

We know that your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. These are some of the benefits we are delighted to offer:

• Comprehensive Pension Plan
• Generous vacation entitlement and option for sabbatical leave
• Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Family Care leave
• Flexible working hours
• Personal Choice budget
• Internal communities and networks
• Various employee discounts
• Recruitment introduction reward
• Employee Assistance Program (global)

About The Business –

A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world’s grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world. If performed in NLD Amsterdam (Radarweg), the base pay range is €65,300 - €108,800. This job may be subject to a collective labor agreement in the Netherlands. Please consult with the hiring team for further details.